Search

The scope of this study was to address the historical features underpinning the Greek variant of the Mediterranean diet and to examine whether relevant differences exist among dietary patterns followed in Greece prior to World War II and those recorded in the 1960s within the Seven Countries Study framework. For this purpose, archival data on family budgets were used to extract information on food availability and composition of the diets followed by two rural Greek populations prior to World War II. Results indicate that diets followed by rural Greeks in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century were characterized by a low availability of fat sources, olive oil included. Lipids represented 22-27% of the total available energy, saturated fatty acids accounted for less than 10% of the total energy, while monounsaturated fatty acids contributed 8-9% of the energy. Our results suggest that although the dietary patterns of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century are in line with the Cretan diet of the 1960s with regards to saturated fat intake, important differences can be traced with regards to total and monounsaturated fat intake. These findings suggest that the model of the Mediterranean diet represents a dietary pattern that has not persisted over a long time period in the region. Keywords: Mediterranean diet, Greece, dietary patterns, nineteenth century, olive oil, dietary fat

The aim of the study was to evaluate the combined effect of several environmental factors on bone mineral density in a group of highly active young women. Yannakoulia et al., found that a group of elite professional female dancers who practiced long-term intensive exercise had higher total and regional BMD values compared to an age- and weight-matched reference population.

This article investigates the influence of nutrition counseling on eating behavior changes in women dancers. Topics include eating disorder, nutritional assessment, and weight loss.

Analyses of a 19th-century record, listing food purchases for the crew of a Greek ship, and a 20th century record for cargo Greek ship, to obtain differences in crew access to food and mononutrients, confirmed that the observed differences could be attributed to the food processing methodologies employed in the two instances. This was true, especially in the case of the caloric contributions from cereals, meats and vegetable fats. A 36% decrease in energy obtained from wheat products was evident in the 20th-century ship, relative to the 19th-century ship.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the differences between the consumption of plant-based v. animal-based protein-rich diets on successful ageing, as well as to identify the optimal combination of dietary protein intake for facilitating successful ageing in people aged >50 years.Design: A combined analysis was conducted in older adults of the ATTICA and MEDIS population-based cross-sectional studies. Anthropometrical, clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle parameters, dietary habits and level of protein intake were derived through standard procedures. Successful ageing was evaluated using the validated Successful Aging Index (SAI) composed of ten health-related social, lifestyle and clinical characteristics.Setting: Athens area and twenty Greek islands.Participants: A total of 3349 Greek women and men over 50 years old.Results: Participants with high consumption of plant proteins were more likely to be male, physically active, with higher daily energy intake, higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet and higher level of SAI (P < 0·001). Participants with 'Low animal & High plant' and 'High animal & High plant' protein consumption had a 6 and 7 % higher SAI score, respectively, compared with the other participants (P < 0·001). In contrast, 'Low animal & Low plant' and 'High animal & Low plant' protein intake was negatively associated with SAI as compared to the combination of all other consumption categories (P < 0·02).Conclusions: The consumption of a plant-based protein-rich diet seems to be a beneficial nutritional choice that should be promoted and encouraged to older people since it may benefit both individual's health and prolong successful ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Dietary and lifestyle behaviors at young ages have been associated with the development of various chronic diseases. Schools are regarded as an excellent setting for lifestyle modification; there is a lack, however, of published dietary data in Cypriot school children. Thus, the objective of this work was to describe lifestyle characteristics of a representative segment of Cypriot school children and provide implications for school health education. Methods The CYKIDS (Cyprus Kids Study) is a national, cross-sectional study conducted among 1140 school children (10.7 ± 0.98 years). Sampling was stratified and multistage in 24 primary schools of Cyprus. Dietary assessment was based on a 154-item semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire and three supplementary questionnaires, assessing dietary patterns and behaviors. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated by the KIDMED index (Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and adolescents). Physical activity was assessed by a 32-item, semi-quantitative questionnaire. Results Analysis revealed that 6.7% of the children were classified as high adherers, whereas 37% as low adherers to the Mediterranean diet. About 20% of boys and 25% of girls reported "not having breakfast on most days of the week", while more than 80% of the children reported having meals with the family at least 5 times/week. Some food-related behaviors, such as intake of breakfast, were associated with socio-demographic factors, mostly with gender and the geomorphological characteristics of the living milieu. With respect to physical activity, boys reported higher levels compared to girls, however, one fourth of children did not report any kind of physical activity. Conclusion A large percentage of Cypriot school children have a diet of low quality and inadequate physical activity. Public health policy makers should urgently focus their attention to primary school children and design school health education programs that target the areas that need attention in order to reduce the future burden of metabolic disorders and chronic diseases.

BACKGROUND: The potential for diet to prevent and treat mental health conditions is an exciting area of investigation; however, the impact of different protein sources on mental health outcomes is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between dietary protein intake and psychological distress, in people aged >50 years of age, living in Greece. METHODS: A combined data set of older people living in the Athens metropolitan area and 20 Greek islands, from the ATTICA (n = 1,128) and MEDIS (n = 2,221) population-based cross-sectional studies was developed. Anthropometric, clinical and socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics, and protein consumption (total, animal, plant) consumed based on validated FFQ, were derived through standard procedures and questionnaires. "Psychological distress" (PDS) was assessed as a combined variable representing symptoms of depression and anxiety using Item Response Theory methodology and fitting a Graded Response Model. RESULTS: Animal protein, but not plant protein intake, was associated with higher PDS following adjustment for age, sex, education level, Mediterranean diet adherence and physical activity (b±SE: 0.399±0.090, p = 0.003). Following analysis by Mediterranean diet adherence level, among low adherers, animal protein intake was positively associated with PDS (b±SE: 1.119±0.174, p = 0.003), and no associations were observed in moderate or high adherence groupsin regards to plant protein intake and PDS. CONCLUSIONS: Animal protein intake is associated with PDS, suggesting a bi-directional relationship, which may be influenced by Mediterranean diet adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the association of Mediterranean food group consumption with successful aging (SA), among people more than 50 years old. Method: Dietary habits, as well as several bio-clinical characteristics of the Greek participants enrolled in the ATTICA (n = 1,128 men and women from Athens metropolitan area) and the MEDIS (n = 2,221 men and women from selected Greek islands) cohort studies were investigated in relation to SA; SA was measured using a validated 10-scale index. Results: Multivariate discriminant food group analysis revealed that legumes consumption, followed by vegetables, cereals, and poultry were associated with higher levels of SA index (explained variability: 7.9%), mainly among islanders, but not among mainland participants. Further analysis revealed that alcohol consumption was positively associated with SA for mainlanders (ATTICA study) but inversely for islanders (MEDIS study; all p 's <.05). Conclusion: The differential and hierarchical effect of various foods on SA and the diet-environmental interaction revealed in the present work may help health professionals to better understand the role of diet on SA, and to prioritize the nutritional needs of older people for better quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]